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Freightliner Class 70's


Western Dave
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Something quite telling is how prominent the specific fuel consumption data is for engines in promotional materials. Engine manufacturers like MAN, Wartsila, Rolls Royce put the fuel figures and graphs front and centre as its one of their biggest selling points. EMD aren't really noted for highlighting this data.

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Totally caught munching. Fantastic picture thanks very much for sharing it. The daytime headlight didn't work which was why I was in night mode

I hadn't noticed the night headlight! With the 68s we have what amounts to main and dipped beam

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WNXX is reporting that all FL 70s are sidelined because of a short term lull in traffic.

They had got down to only 6 in traffic anyway.

As I put in another thread, I wonder if Freightliner have pulled the plug on the Class 70 experience as having spoken to several of their staff, they’ve never given the reliability or savings promised. The upside is that their on “power by the hour” contracts, so Freightliner doesn’t have to pay for a valuable and expensive asset to just be sitting idle.

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As I put in another thread, I wonder if Freightliner have pulled the plug on the Class 70 experience as having spoken to several of their staff, they’ve never given the reliability or savings promised. The upside is that their on “power by the hour” contracts, so Freightliner doesn’t have to pay for a valuable and expensive asset to just be sitting idle.

 

Sorry - just saw your other thread.

I guess it's down to GE and FL to sort out.

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GE work on promises not actualities.  They are a business, which work on the quality of their name in the USA, which may work in the USA but should be challenged everywhere else.  They buy companies then de-man them and make people unit costs and not valued people.  As a result experienced and valued people leave resulting in less experienced people doing the work.  They also supply the money for leasing through their finance making things look advantageous.                                                                 You don't talk about a GE job you talk about a Rolls Royce job.

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There were 2 at Ipswich Station early on Tuesday morning - 001 & 002 - which took me a bit by surprise as I hadn't seen one for a while.

 

DSCF4682.JPG.1ca14abf67f7d00db19259eae365ac19.JPG

 

One moved off around 08.30 to head a Felixstowe bound train in the upper yard, whilst the other was shunting the fuel tanker train in the station sidings when I left for Norwich at 08.45.

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1 hour ago, Johann Marsbar said:

There were 2 at Ipswich Station early on Tuesday morning - 001 & 002 - which took me a bit by surprise as I hadn't seen one for a while.

 

 

 

One moved off around 08.30 to head a Felixstowe bound train in the upper yard, whilst the other was shunting the fuel tanker train in the station sidings when I left for Norwich at 08.45.

 

70001 worked the Ipswich / Lindsey tanks (and back) on Tuesday - causing a lot of froth on the local railway groups.

Edited by beast66606
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16 hours ago, Pandora said:

An article in Rail for the Class 70s,  many stored at Leeds Midland Road depot,  the article echoes  the forum,  the class 70 is not popular with drivers  who prefer a 66


I must be an exception to the rule, give me a 70 over a 66 any day of the week!

 

A cracking loco power wise, a few bits are odd/annoying but as long as you get on them regularly you get used to them

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1 hour ago, big jim said:


I must be an exception to the rule, give me a 70 over a 66 any day of the week!

 

A cracking loco power wise, a few bits are odd/annoying but as long as you get on them regularly you get used to them

 

Passed out on them at Lawley Street a few weeks ago and haven't been on one yet, we've got laminated 'go to guides' to refer to if we get befuddled...!

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18 hours ago, Pandora said:

An article in Rail for the Class 70s,  many stored at Leeds Midland Road depot,  the article echoes  the forum,  the class 70 is not popular with drivers  who prefer a 66

 

There are currently 7 stored at Midland Road, out of a Freightliner fleet of 20.

 

For those interested, the stored examples currently comprise;

70004/09*/13/16-19

 

* the longest stored - since 01/17

 

From my observations they remain pretty regular performers on intermodal workings between Leeds FLT and Southampton Maritime.

 

 

 

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Nidge: I can guarantee you will change ends loads of times and forget to flick the cab active switch out and have to do the walk of shame to the rear cab again! 

 

One if the useful bits of info I got across while training drivers on them is don’t worry when the ‘alarm’ bell goes off it’s not normally telling you of a problem but it’s letting you know the loco is about to do something (ie Auto shut down)


The bell will also go off if you ‘feather the brake’ too much, doing that can stop the dynamic brake coming in which is what it’s warning you of, you are relying purely on the train brakes slowing you, it will come up as a message on the bottom of the screen too (dynamic brake failure or words to that effect), if safe simply take the brake off and wait 5-10 seconds before reapplying and the dynamic brake ‘should’ come back

 

Were you shown ‘plug mode’ on them, are you allowed to use it? 

 

(plug mode uses the dynamic brake at slow speeds, below 10mph, to keep you at a set speed downhill, handy in ballast drops!)  
 

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70001 passed through Westbury one evening this week just gone by, think it was Thursday, Southampton bound ex Wentloog. First time I've seen a 70 on that working.

Doesn't the bell go off when you switch cabs too? Seems to ring a heck of a lot!

Is it just my cackhanded clumsiness, or does anyone else find 70s awkward to get on and off of?

 

Jo

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On 14/12/2019 at 12:31, big jim said:

Nidge: I can guarantee you will change ends loads of times and forget to flick the cab active switch out and have to do the walk of shame to the rear cab again! 

 

One if the useful bits of info I got across while training drivers on them is don’t worry when the ‘alarm’ bell goes off it’s not normally telling you of a problem but it’s letting you know the loco is about to do something (ie Auto shut down)


The bell will also go off if you ‘feather the brake’ too much, doing that can stop the dynamic brake coming in which is what it’s warning you of, you are relying purely on the train brakes slowing you, it will come up as a message on the bottom of the screen too (dynamic brake failure or words to that effect), if safe simply take the brake off and wait 5-10 seconds before reapplying and the dynamic brake ‘should’ come back

 

Were you shown ‘plug mode’ on them, are you allowed to use it? 

 

(plug mode uses the dynamic brake at slow speeds, below 10mph, to keep you at a set speed downhill, handy in ballast drops!)  
 

 

Cheers Jim, all duly noted! We were told about the 'plug mode' thingy but thanks for reminding me. I'll not get on one till next year now, I've only got one job this week then I'm annual leave over Christmas. 

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On 30/09/2019 at 15:43, DWSHARPE1 said:

GE work on promises not actualities.  They are a business, which work on the quality of their name in the USA, which may work in the USA but should be challenged everywhere else.  They buy companies then de-man them and make people unit costs and not valued people.  As a result experienced and valued people leave resulting in less experienced people doing the work.  They also supply the money for leasing through their finance making things look advantageous.                                                                 You don't talk about a GE job you talk about a Rolls Royce job.

Interesting view... GE have overtaken EMD in production terms causing GM to sell the EMD/GMD operations (to Caterpillar Progress Rail). UP, NS, BNSF, CP, CN, CSX, etc seem to be content with their many thousands of them over the last 20-30 years. Their capital plans seem attractive to leasers... I don't see the issue; better to use a company that can stay afloat than one that has busted their finance house twice (GMAC).

 

GE have done some acquisition work and moved production but that is the modern world... Look at the car industry or Boeing or Dyson.

 

It may be that the GE HH locos to UK requirements (70s) have not fulfilled their promise as easily as EMD managed to squeeze an SD60 into a 66 and perform. 

However, I suspect the store/use/store/use cycle is carefully matched to flows, power requirements, lease costs, storage cost and maintenance costs. Running a rail company is far more than just running trains in this age.

 

You don't talk about a Rolls Royce job if you're anything to do with a Trent based aircraft or a BMW car...

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